Spooky Physics!

From: Larry Hatch <larry@larryhatch.net>
Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 11:29:26 -0800
Fwd Date: Thu, 22 Nov 2001 08:25:29 -0500
Subject: Spooky Physics!
Hello all:
I found this article captivating. Its a tough read for some of
us, but give it a try.
I have a sneaking suspicion that if any solid part of the UFO
problem is ever solved, it will come from advances in our own
sciences, most especially physics.
- - - - -
Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 14:10:33 -0500 (EST)
From: AIP listserver <physnews@aip.org>
To: physnews-mailing@aip.org
PHYSICS NEWS UPDATE
The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Physics News
Number 566 November 21, 2001 by Phillip F. Schewe, Ben Stein,
and James Riordon
HIDDEN OBJECTS REVEALED WITH QUANTUM HOLOGRAPHY.
Second sight and remote viewing are terms used to explain
charlatans' supposed psychic ability to see hidden objects in
terms of pseudoscientific gibberish.
Quantum holography, on the other hand, is a method firmly
grounded in modern physics that permits the imaging of hidden
objects with entangled photons. Of the quantum entanglement
phenomena that Einstein described as "spooky action at a
distance," quantum holography may be the spookiest to date.
Researchers at Boston University's Quantum Imaging Laboratory
(Bahaa Saleh, 617-353-7176, besaleh@bu.edu) propose to create
holographic images of objects concealed in a spherical chamber.
Ideally, a small opening in the chamber wall permits light to
enter, but lets no light out. The photons in a beam of light
directed through the hole scatter from the enclosed object, and
ultimately strike the inner wall of the chamber - see figure at:
http://www.aip.org/mgr/png
According to the scheme, the inside of chamber would be designed
to detect the time when a photon hits the wall but not where it
hits.
Classically, there is no way to generate an image of an object
with this sort of configuration. Quantum mechanically, however,
it's possible to build a hologram of the hidden object provided
that the photons in the illuminating beam are entangled with
photons in another beam.
[Quantum Entanglement is marvel in itself, with certain
apparent super-luminal properties. -LH]
Each photon in an entangled pair has properties (such as
momentum or polarization) that are unknown until a measurement
is performed on one photon or the other.
When a property of one of the photons is measured, corresponding
information about its entangled mate is instantly determined.
That may seem spooky enough, but in quantum holography, things
get spookier still.
Holograms are typically constructed with interfering beams of
light, which provides more information about a subject than
simple illumination can. The additional information helps build
a three dimensional image of a three dimensional object.
In quantum holography, the researchers measure the simultaneous
arrivals of an illuminating photon that is sent into the chamber
and a companion photon in the other entangled beam. This
measurement tells the researchers about the interference of
various possible paths that the single photon inside the chamber
could travel. And it's the interference of the possible paths
that encodes the holographic image of the hidden object. Very
spooky indeed.
For the moment, quantum holography exists only on paper. But the
researchers assert that there are no technological obstacles to
the proposal, and they hope to begin building an experimental
system soon.
(Ayman F. Abouraddy, Bahaa E. A. Saleh, Alexander V. Sergienko,
and Malvin C. Teich, Optics Express, 5 November 2001.)
- - - -
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Best wishes
- Larry Hatch
UFO UpDates - Toronto - ufoupdates@virtuallystrange.net
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